My sourdough starter looked like pancake batter after 2 weeks of feeding it daily

I started my first sourdough starter back in March (you know, quarantine baking fever) and followed every guide to the letter. It was bubbly and happy for the first 10 days, then suddenly went flat and watery like batter instead of dough. Turns out I was using tap water with too much chlorine from our city supply here in Phoenix, which just killed the yeast activity. Switched to filtered water and it perked back up in like 3 days. Has anyone else had their starter die from local water quality?

3 comments

3 Comments

martin.riley1mo ago

Filtered water definitely helps but I've seen plenty of starters bounce back from a rough city water supply. Mine got all watery and sad too after a few days of tap water but came back fine after a switch. You might have just needed more patience and a different water, not a total die off.

kai_webb911mo ago

Betrayed my starter with city water. Never letting tap near it again.

the_susan1mo ago

Right @kai_webb91, it's ALWAYS the tap water that gets you first in life.